scholarly journals A high-resolution multi-proxy record of late Cenozoic environment change from central Taklimakan Desert, China

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 2661-2680 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Wang ◽  
D. H. Sun ◽  
F. Wang ◽  
B. F. Li ◽  
S. Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Taklimakan Desert ◽  
Late Cenozoic ◽  
Environment Change ◽  
Sedimentary Sequences ◽  
Dust Sources ◽  
Climate Evolution ◽  
Area Preserve

Abstract. The Taklimakan Desert in the Tarim Basin is the largest desert in Central Asia, and is regarded as one of the main dust sources to the Northern Hemisphere. Late Cenozoic sedimentary sequences with intercalated in-situ aeolian dune sands in this area preserve direct evidence for the Asian desertification. Herein, we report a high-resolution multi-proxy climatic record from the precise magnetostratigraphic dated Hongbaishan section in the central Taklimakan Desert. Our results show that a fundamental climate change, characterized by significant cooling, enhanced aridity, and intensified atmospheric circulation, occurred at 2.8 Ma. Good correlations between climate records in the dust sources and downwind areas suggest a broadly consistent climate evolution of northwestern China during the late Cenozoic, which is probably driven by the uplift of the Tibet Plateau and the Northern Hemisphere glaciation.

scholarly journals A high-resolution multi-proxy record of late Cenozoic environment change from central Taklimakan Desert, China

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 2731-2739 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. Wang ◽  
D. H. Sun ◽  
F. Wang ◽  
B. F. Li ◽  
S. Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Taklimakan Desert ◽  
Late Cenozoic ◽  
Environment Change ◽  
Sedimentary Sequences ◽  
Dust Sources ◽  
Climate Evolution ◽  
Area Preserve

Abstract. The Taklimakan Desert in the Tarim Basin is the largest desert in Central Asia, and is regarded as one of the main dust sources to the Northern Hemisphere. Late Cenozoic sedimentary sequences with intercalated in-situ aeolian dune sands in this area preserve direct evidence for the Asian desertification. Herein, we report a high-resolution multi-proxy climatic record from the precise magnetostratigraphic dated Hongbaishan section in the central Taklimakan Desert. Our results show that a fundamental climate change, characterised by significant cooling, enhanced aridity, and intensified atmospheric circulation, occurred at 2.8 Ma. Good correlations between paleo-environmental records in the dust sources and downwind areas suggest a broadly consistent climate evolution of northwestern China during the late Cenozoic, which is probably driven by the uplift of the Tibet Plateau and the Northern Hemisphere glaciation.

scholarly journals Late Oligocene–early Miocene birth of the Taklimakan Desert

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (25) ◽  
pp. 7662-7667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongbo Zheng ◽  
Xiaochun Wei ◽  
Ryuji Tada ◽  
Peter D. Clift ◽  
Bin Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Critical Region ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
Taklimakan Desert ◽  
Late Oligocene ◽  
Volcanic Tuff ◽  
Sedimentary Sequences ◽  
Environmental Event ◽  
The Taklimakan Desert ◽  
Dust Sources

As the world’s second largest sand sea and one of the most important dust sources to the global aerosol system, the formation of the Taklimakan Desert marks a major environmental event in central Asia during the Cenozoic. Determining when and how the desert formed holds the key to better understanding the tectonic–climatic linkage in this critical region. However, the age of the Taklimakan remains controversial, with the dominant view being from ∼3.4 Ma to ∼7 Ma based on magnetostratigraphy of sedimentary sequences within and along the margins of the desert. In this study, we applied radioisotopic methods to precisely date a volcanic tuff preserved in the stratigraphy. We constrained the initial desertification to be late Oligocene to early Miocene, between ∼26.7 Ma and 22.6 Ma. We suggest that the Taklimakan Desert was formed as a response to a combination of widespread regional aridification and increased erosion in the surrounding mountain fronts, both of which are closely linked to the tectonic uplift of the Tibetan–Pamir Plateau and Tian Shan, which had reached a climatically sensitive threshold at this time.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SPECTRA OF THE 2000-YEAR NORTHERN HEMISPHERE AVERAGE SURFACE AIR TEMPERATURE RECONSTRUCTIONS

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-13
Author(s):  
N. M. DATSENKO ◽  
◽  
D. M. SONECHKIN ◽  
B. YANG ◽  
J.-J. LIU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Wavelet Transforms ◽  
Spectral Composition ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Surface Air Temperature ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Continuous Wavelet Transforms ◽  
Stable Estimation

The spectral composition of temporal variations in the Northern Hemisphere mean surface air temperature is estimated and compared in 2000-year paleoclimatic reconstructions. Continuous wavelet transforms of these reconstructions are used for the stable estimation of energy spectra. It is found that low-frequency parts of the spectra (the periods of temperature variations of more than 100 years) based on such high-resolution paleoclimatic indicators as tree rings, corals, etc., are similar to the spectrum of white noise, that is never observed in nature. This seems unrealistic. The famous reconstruction called “Hockey Stick” is among such unrealistic reconstructions. Reconstructions based not only on high-resolution but also on low-resolution indicators seem to be more realistic, since the low-frequency parts of their spectra have the pattern of red noise. They include the “Boomerang” reconstruction showing that some warm periods close to the present-day one were observed in the past.

scholarly journals High-resolution seismic reflection profiling: an aid for resolving the Pleistocene stratigraphy of a buried valley in central Illinois, USA

2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (64) ◽  
pp. 10-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Stumpf ◽  
Ahmed Ismail
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Seismic Reflection ◽  
Pleistocene Glaciations ◽  
Glacial Sediments ◽  
Borehole Geophysics ◽  
Valley Fill ◽  
Sedimentary Sequences ◽  
Valley Fills ◽  
Central Illinois ◽  
Sand And Gravel

Abstract High-resolution seismic reflection (HRSR) data acquired over the Pesotum Bedrock Valley in central Illinois, USA, helped construct the seismic stratigraphy of a valley fill and the overlying sediments. Integrating these data with drilling and borehole geophysics allowed us to develop a seismo-stratigraphic classification for sediments on undulating and folded bedrock. Seven seismo-stratigraphic units that overlie the bedrock surface were characterized. Seismic units A and B include glacial sediments of multiple Pleistocene glaciations above the Pesotum Bedrock Valley, which completely mask the feature. Seismic units C–F, the valley fill, primarily include tills and glacial lake sediment deposited during the earliest Pleistocene glaciations and preglacial alluvium and colluvium that is draped over in situ weathered bedrock. The preservation of conformable-lying glacial and preglacial deposits and paucity of sand and gravel in the buried valley strongly indicate that little or no incision by glacial meltwaters has occurred. These observations contrast markedly with interpretations from buried valleys elsewhere in North America and northern Europe where valley fills contain significant deposits of sand and gravel in tunnel valleys. The HRSR data assisted the characterization and analysis of heterogeneous sedimentary sequences over a buried valley where existing subsurface information was limited. The extent of Pleistocene-age glacial lakes is inferred from the lateral continuity of silt and clay units.

Deep-sea panoramas: Progress and remaining challenges in late Miocene stratigraphy and climate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Joy Drury ◽  
Thomas Westerhold ◽  
David A. Hodell ◽  
Mitchell Lyle ◽  
Cédric M. John ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
Ongoing Work ◽  
Climate Evolution ◽  
Deep Ocean Circulation ◽  
Geological Timescale

<p>During the late Miocene, meridional sea surface temperature gradients, deep ocean circulation patterns, and continental configurations evolved to a state similar to modern day. Deep-sea benthic foraminiferal stable oxygen (δ<sup>18</sup>O) and carbon (δ<sup>13</sup>C) isotope stratigraphy remains a fundamental tool for providing accurate chronologies and global correlations, both of which can be used to assess late Miocene climate dynamics. Until recently, late Miocene benthic δ<sup>18</sup>O and δ<sup>13</sup>C stratigraphies remained poorly constrained, due to relatively poor global high-resolution data coverage.</p><p>Here, I present ongoing work that uses high-resolution deep-sea foraminiferal stable isotope records to improve late Miocene (chrono)stratigraphy. Although challenges remain, the coverage of late Miocene benthic δ<sup>18</sup>O and δ<sup>13</sup>C stratigraphies has drastically improved in recent years, with high-resolution records now available across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The recovery of these deep-sea records, including the first astronomically tuned, deep-sea integrated magneto-chemostratigraphy, has also helped to improve the late Miocene geological timescale. Finally, I will briefly touch upon how our understanding of late Miocene climate evolution has improved, based on the high-resolution deep-sea archives that are now available.</p>

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